Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015. This bill authorizes $7 billion for passenger rail, including $5.8 billion for Amtrak, over the next 4 years. This bill is not perfect, but I appreciate the committee leadership's efforts to develop a bill in a bipartisan manner. This bill significantly reforms the way Amtrak funding is authorized. Rather than authorizing separate appropriations for debt service, capital, and operating expenses, the bill creates two new accounts--a Northeast corridor account and a national network account. The bill also creates a new program to provide grants to the States, funded at $300 million annually, of which $150 million is dedicated to the Northeast corridor. The Northeast corridor region contains 4 of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the country. It is home to more than 51 million people, and our regional economy is the fifth-largest in the world between France and Germany. If the Northeast corridor were to unexpectedly shut down for just one day, the potential impact on the U.S. economy could be $100 million in transportation-related impacts and productivity losses.…”